


Flashes Of Family Life

by melliyna



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Families of Choice, Fluff, LGBT families, M/M, cm: family verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-02
Updated: 2010-07-02
Packaged: 2017-10-10 08:41:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/97780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melliyna/pseuds/melliyna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of drabbles, set in the CM Kid-Verse. Entirely, entirely fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flashes Of Family Life

When she comes to visit she finds her new neighbour feeding the baby (well she's heard there's a husband but he hasn't been sighted yet. So it's just Aaron, the baby, the toddler, the five year old and the seven and nine year old). He's all curls and the most focused expression she's seen in a small baby, fingers curled around the bottle his father is holding with determined fascination. It's not that he doesn't trust that it's going to be let go of, she thinks, it's that he wants to explore this whole thing with fingers and curling them around things.

The adventurous life of babies.

"Thank you" says Aaron with a smile and yes, maybe she blushes a little inside (because he is beautiful, with the baby and the gentle strength and the way she knows he joins with his kids in imaginary games) but all that happens outside is that she waves it off and says, "not to worry, my brother and I need further people to foist our vegetables upon"

He laughs at that and they exchange pleasantries about gardens. And she's glad because she and Paul can be a little bit safer here, maybe.

 

-

 

Gideon comes home to see snowmen and Emily making her first snow angel. She looks a little hesitant when he comes over to look, as though she's afraid he won't like it but she smiles when he says, that's perfect Emily before she runs off to throw snowballs and build a fort with Derek. Pen is jumping at the window, "Out? Out?" and trying to get in to her coat backwards. It's her birthday just gone by but she might have been more excited about her baby sisters today.

In later years they have a rule about not putting up the decorations until after Jennifer Jane's birthday but this year it all blends together - fairy lights, decorations, the tree and this tiny new life curled in Aaron's arms.

"J go?"

"Not today Pen. She's a little small for snow. But you can go and make a snow angel for her, hey?"

"J ANGEL!"

And with that, she takes off. But she's holding Derek's hand because you can have adventures but you can also have Papa, big brother and big sister there to give hugs and warm blankets afterwards or if it gets to scary.

Gideon looks at the tree, the presents underneath it and at Aaron and their tiny new daughter and wonders at it, that this is his.

 

-

 

"Are you going to wake them up?"

"No, it can wait until we've unpacked the rest of the car. Then maybe in stages so we can make sure no-one gets overly excited."

"I thought we'd covered the 'overly excited' already."

"I forgot, you haven't seen Spence after he's been to the ocean and is now berefit of the ability to hug the ocean. Or Pen realising she can't visit the mermaids there for a little while longer."

"We're going to the park tomorrow aren't we?"

Aaron gives Dave a grin at this last as they both look over the pile of children now asleep on the couch. It had been a long car-trip home and after all, exploring takes it out of you. As do adventures.

"Maybe. It might end in a quiet day watching videos or lots of books. Though I don't know that I'll forgive you for distracting Spencer with Top Gear. He'll demand "STIG" all day, you know."

"I'm an instigator of chaos like that, Mr 'I'm the Stay At Home Parent who plays Ringwraiths versus The Fellowship' with your children'"

 

-

 

Dave would say that the first song they danced to was Fly Me To The Moon. He likes that it was Sinatra. The first time he kissed Aaron is sort of ridiculous and adorable all at once (it was a long long night, Aaron had had to deal with a sick child, he'd had a horrible case and they both looked like hell. But it's a story).

The very first time he'd woken up to Aaron curled in to him, semi cat like, he'd only half believed it. Aaron was his but Aaron was so because he chose to be. And that still sometimes makes him want to pinch himself, to be honest (and then one of the kids decides to dive in and jump on the bed and there goes reality, with a small but decided THUMP).

He spends six weeks or so, finding the first and only piece of jewellery he's given Aaron.

-

 

He's tried everything. Or it feels like everything. Stories, songs, stories, the park, bribery, videos, more stories. But it's hard to take a sick baby to the park and in the end, Dave's hoping a bath and sleep will work. Because he might be telling himself Spencer is fine (and before this whole thing started he would have thought he'd have been fine or just fine and irritated at the crying), but he looks so hurt and bewildered by the hurt.

This is why he's hoping the bath will help, at least until Aaron gets home (there are few things guaranteed to ache more than seeing Spencer wake up with a smile and then "...'ere Papa?" and immediately fall back in to disappointment) from taking the rest of the family out. It's the first time they've really been left alone together. Dave doesn't want to run though. He wants to make this better, somehow. So Spencer got the bubble bath with the extra large bubbles and all his toys and it's okay for a while. It's when he starts coughing, tiny little body curled up in misery that Dave can't help it. He turns towards Spencer, wanting to hug him.

"What can I do for you, little barnacle? Time to get out?"

And then somehow, he's got an armful of wet and covered in bubbles still child. "Daddy HUG, Daddy HUG" and a tiny little body, warm from the bath and from fever.

"That's right little barnacle," he says absently. He's holding the little body as tightly as possible because well, his son.

"Time for a towel and then a nap, I think"


End file.
